Child's Play: Family Ties
by TheFifthSister
Summary: They say it takes a village to raise a child...
1. Artie

Emma played on the floor of the B&B front room with Trailer, giggling as he tried to lick her face while his fur tickled against her skin as she played tug of war with him. Artie sat in an arm chair, book in hand. He was loathe to admit it in front of his agents but he'd come to love his time with Emma. Cherished it. He thought that having a kid around was going to be loud and disruptive and more along the lines of Pete then the little girl he was currently reading to. She was easily excited able, endlessly curious but she had all the touches of Myka that he loved in his agent and the mischievous streak of HG that kept them all on their toes at times.

He was meant to be going through the latest batch of reports his agents had handed him before sending them to the Regents but Emma had sulked that he was busy working and asked him to read to her. He relented, taking his current seat whilst Emma plopped herself down at his feet. Claudia liked to tease him for reading Winnie The Pooh to her but Emma had chosen it and seemed to be enjoying it, never feeling the need to poke fun at him. He hoped she'd stay this cute and adorable for a while yet. He watched her fuss with Trailer as she listened to the story he wove, her little eyes lighting up at the thought of having such adventures herself.

He reached the end of the story and closed the book. Emma stood up, climbing into his lap with a little help and sat in the crook of his arm.

"I liked that Grampa."

"You did? Good." Artie smiled at her.

Emma sat happily, looking around the room trying to decide what she wanted to do next. Her eyes settled on the other side of the room. She slid off his lap, running to the piano and pulled the bench out, climbing on top. "Will you play Grampa?" Emma asked, patting the lid.

Artie put the book aside, stood from the chair and made his way over to the piano. He lifted the lid, cracked his fingers and slide on to the bench next to Emma.

He played a piece he knew she liked, smiling as she watched his fingers fly across the keys. He moved into a more upbeat number and chuckled when she started to bop along, legs swinging happily under her.

"See this one here," Artie pointed to the C note in front of Emma. "Put your finger there and when I nod, play it."

He waited for Emma to position her finger and look up at him. He played a slower piece, nodding his head at the end of the bar and Emma jolted into action, hitting her note. He played a little more, signalling her. Emma giggled every time, hitting her mark. Artie sped up a little.

They spent the next hour playing together, Artie trying different things and Emma giggling and clapping and occasionally hoping from the seat to dance around.


	2. Pete

Pete carried Emma into the B&B on his back, heading straight into the kitchen. He'd picked her up from day care for Myka, loving the excuse to spend some time with his niece.

He dropped her down on to a chair and started rummaging in the cupboards. He got out two glasses, the carton of milk from the fridge and a pack of cookies, setting them all down on the table. He poured two glasses of milk; Emma's half full, set two cookies in front of her and then two in front of Emma and two in front of himself.

"Remember the rules? First person to finish their milk and cookies gets a third," Pete challenged.

Emma lifted a hand, mock glaring at her uncle and challenging him to beat her. Pete narrowed his eyes, puffed out his chest in defiance and made her giggle.

"One... two... three..." Pete counted.

Emma grabbed a cookie, taking a big bite and smiling at Pete as he took a smaller bite. She hadn't realised yet that he always let her win their little "cookie wars" and loved watching her face as she tried to win, making sure she didn't get too carried away. Myka had almost killed him the first time he'd tried this with her little girl, the sheer amount of sugar he was feeding her as well as the fact he was teaching her 'eat like him'... although they'd consumed a lot more cookies that time. He'd dialled it back since and it made snack time just a little more fun for both of them.

Emma powered through her first cookie and stopped to drink some of her milk. Pete caught up to her, taking a moment to drink some of his milk and watching Emma over the top of his glass. He flicked his fingers from his eyes to her, showing her he was watching her every move. Emma giggled again, starting on her second cookie. She made happy chewing noises, kicking her legs happily beneath her seat, watching Pete closely as he put his glass down and picked up his second cookie.

Emma was slowing down, enjoying this one more and it almost killed Pete to stop himself shoving the whole cookie in his mouth. She stuck the last bite into her mouth, smiling at Pete who still had half a cookie in his mouth before picking up her glass and chugging the last of her milk, setting it down triumphantly and wiped her mouth on the back of her hand.

"I win!"

Pete slumped in his chair, throwing his hands up. "You beat me again?" Emma nodded, her curls bouncing as a smile spread across her features knowing what was coming next. Pete sighed dramatically. "I guess you get the third cookie." He took another one, handing it to her, pulling back for a minute to tell her "take your time with this one."

Pete cleared the table, putting their glasses in the sink before swing Emma up and over his shoulder. She laughed as she hung upside down, clinging to her cookie as Pete carried her out of the kitchen.

"What do you say we find some cartoons to watch munchkin?"


End file.
